at about 11:40 another jeep approached me from behind ... but this was no ordinary jeep ...it had supplies and folks from hotels loaded on it ..they were delivering supplies for hotels are fairy meadows which were to be delivered at tatoo village and then taken up my mules....
the person sitting at front with the driver seemed like a real wise ass and he made the driver stop and started talking to me that i was not even at half way point and i should get n the jeep and a guy died from Islamabad last year the same old story ... i said I'll take my chances...but then the guys on the back of the jeep also joined in and said even us locals dont travel on foot get on board...i was quiet tired so i hopped on and we continued our journey...
the jeep moved quiet slowly and soon another couple of jeeps loaded with boys passed us....by 12:10 we passed the wooden bridge which tells that you are almost there...at a little distance from the end of the jeep trail the jeep wala stopped and asked me to get off as the regular jeep drivers would get pissed off if they saw that he had given lift to a tourist ..so i got off ... the smart ass guy sitting at the passenger seat came over to me and said give me Rs 1,000 the driver is asking for money ...i told him i Will go and pay the driver myself dont u worry buddy so i went over to the driver and asked him how much ...he was almost offended and said i dont want your money bhai just dont tell anyone that u came here with me
end of the jeep trail
the tom cruise of gats standing comfortably on the side of a vertical cliff
there was a little tuck shop right before the start of the trail.... 5 boys ..all of whom were also from software engineers from karachi were also there i talked to them for a bit and had some tea...at the tuck shop i asked the owner if i could leave some of my stuff with him before starting my hike as i was dead tired already...he said yes for 300 rupees ...we settled on 250 so i paid him 250...100 for the tea....everything was more than double its original price from there on...10 rupees biscuit was 30...60 rupees mineral water was 150 and so on....their rational was that we have to pay the jeep walas to get the stuff up here so we have to charge more....
the boys before me left...they asked me to join them but i said u guys go ahead i will start in a bit...just as i was about to leave another set of 4 guys came up...all friends two from karachi and other two from lahore...
soon after i started walking at about 1 pm a guy with a horse coming from the other side approached me and asked me if i wanted a horse i said no but asked him the charges..i was told 60 ruppees per kg and u get weighted when u reach the top..sounded kinda fishy..so i continued to walk... another horse wala guy joined in and informed that the group of 5 guys had all hired horses and i should do the same.......i again refused and kept walking..they started following me with their horses...i guess waiting to see when i get too tired and finally cave in ...soon a horse passed with one of the boys from the 2nd group i had met at the tuck shop
soon i crossed midway hotel after 2:00 and one of the guys said i will drop u to the top for 1500/- i felt like a dying animal being followed by a couple of vultures..i finally turned around and told them guys you are wasting your time i will not hire a horse ..they finally left me alone... i was very tired and was taking breaks every 15 20 minutes now...
the boys from the 2nd group caught up with me and we started talking .. i told them that i was alone and they graciously offered me to stay with them for the night and split the rent with them which i agreed to do so... they soon passed me and disappeared from sight and i felt so old at that time ...
soon four horses crossed carrying a family .. husband wife and 2 kids...that was the only family i saw up there...
now here i must mention one thing...the track up to fairy meadows was filled and i mean FILLED with garbage .. it was so dirty and disgusting...biscuit chocolate wrappers juice boxes and cold drink bottles...cigarette buds...even Children's soiled diapers....at a couple of places when i was all alone and there was no one around me i came across an intersection with 2 paths...i just followed the one with the empty bottles and debris on them and kept going..we as tourist must not litter because what we throw up there...it stays there... i mean there were cigarette packs so old that there branding had faded away and they were just white...but garbage once thrown stays there no one picks it up..so please dont litter at such places ...
in between the walk i got peaks in at the magnificent nanga parbat....which was mesmerizing all covered in snow..at the end i was dead tired...i finally reached the top at about 5:20 after almost NINE hours...it was getting dark...
the first look at nanga parbat and its glacier is something else...takes your breath away and makes the journey worth it ...
i immediately started looking for the boys and found them they had gotten there half an hour before and and were talking to a hotel owner (fairy meadows hilton hotel )...he offered either a normal room with mattresses form 2 days for 4000 or a heated room with a fire place and chimney for 5000 but you have to put out the fire before sleeping and they only give u a small quantity of wood to burn....
so the boys had already decided to take the room without heating before i arrived which i tried to talk them out of but they said we have already said yes to it...and boy did they regret it later because it was damn cold in night...well below 0 degrees ..... no mobile networks work up there..only scom works in northern areas and telenor and zong in most places but not jazz which is my network...so highly recommended to buy a scom sim at the start of your journey...
the hotel owner gave us 2 extra mattresses with 2 beds and plenty of blankets along with 2 sleeping bags...
soon we got hungry and went down to ask for food...the rates were ..daal with 2 roti 350..daal chawal 350...mix subzi 350... biryani 500 per plate...and chicken karhai 5000 for the whole chicken ....so in short damn expensive...
i the end we ordered the chicken karhai which took 2 hours to make as they cook only after receiving order ...we roamed around and met another group of guys from lahore who had brought their own supplies and were making tikka boti ...they invited but we declined ..
the karhai was raw and undercooked and too spicy and gave all the guys heartburn...i had a bottle of ENO with me wihich we all drank...i could feel that something was not right in my stomach ....
at night the boys started playing cards in the room which i dont do ... i instead watched the tv show jack ryan on my phone which i had loaded with movies and tv shows for the trip....it got so cold that my teeth were chattering but soon i went to sleep
end of day 4
i see you
beauty at sundown
